Revelations from a Beek

) ( Bee Geek ) ( 

The Reveal

“You carry Mother Earth within you. 

She is not outside of you. 

Mother Earth is not just your environment. 

In that insight of inter-being, 

it is possible to have real communication with the Earth, 

which is the highest form of prayer.”

 - Thich Naht Hanh

"There is a language older by far and deeper than words. 

It is the language of bodies, of body on body, 

wind on snow, rain on trees, wave on stone. 

It is the language of dream, gesture, symbol, memory..."

 - derrick jensen  

"But, child of dust, the fragrant flowers,
The bright blue sky and velvet sod,
Were strange conductors to the bowers
Thy daring footsteps must have trod." 

- Emily Bronte

Purple Deadnettle growing wild at the base of two of my hives:  Ariadne and Stella.  This is a flower that Honey Bees like (it creates red pollen!), but my Honey Bees are not on it, as they tend to prefer large nectar and pollen sources and will often stick to a species; the woodland trees around here provide a much greater "patch" of pollen to collect from.  The Carpenter Bees however, are all over it.  I have, on the other hand, heard of beekeepers, whose bees live near large fields rather than forests, bringing in loads of Purple Deadnettle pollen, and I've seen this flower blanket acres of fallow field.  An enchantment either way...  (plus YOU can eat them!)

These two pictures show resiliency...  you can see where, when the flower bud was just beginning and was small (just the tip), they got burnt by the cold snap we got after the super warm spell a couple weeks ago.  The flower kept growing anyway, pushed the damage out of the way, and got on with it.  The heart of the flower was still protected and unharmed.  This is a Saucercup Magnolia; it is featured in the first image above.

"Someday, after mastering the winds, 

the waves, the tides and gravity, 

we shall harness for God the energies of love, 

and then, 

for a second time in the history of the world, 

man will have discovered fire."

 - Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

 

"Once you've seen it, you can't unsee it.

 And once you've seen it, 

 keeping quiet, saying nothing, 

becomes as political as speaking out."
- Arundhati Roy

~ 

Warm Winter Weather Hive Inspections

Bright pollen stored in old brood comb.

"It took my breath away, too, 

how we could take up so little space and yet contain it all, 

the vast demands, the amplitude of love."

- Marisa de los Santos

Brood comb is darker than honeycomb mostly because some of the cocoons that the bees develop in remain and merge with the comb. This comb is from one of my four hives that died over the winter (the one the bear got into this past summer). All these provisions (3 and a half medium supers) will be used for the other hives and any splits I make. I will make at least one split to replace this loss. 

The other three hives are doing well and all have 60-140# of honey on them each. So I may harvest honey in the Spring once a good nectar flow is on and there is no expectation of any super cold stretches. My fingers are crossed that I lose no hives in the next couple months with this strange warm weather. (78! degrees today!).  

The bees are bringing in loads of pollen which stimulates brood rearing. Once there is brood in the hive to keep warm, the bees may prioritize this over leaving the brood to die, even if it means starving to death because the nectar stores are just a bit too far away to get to because of cold temperatures. The bees are clustered in a ball, and move and work as a unit in the hive, when the temperatures are in the 40s; in the 30s they will not break cluster. The queen is kept in the middle of the cluster to an amazing 95 degrees regardless of outside temps! 

So, strangely warm weather in winter can jump start Spring processes with the bees, just like it does with, for instance, fruit trees.  The warm spell makes the creature think spring is here, and their cycle changes, then we get a cold snap...and flower buds freeze - meaning no fruit for the year, or bee queens lay eggs that metamorph into larvae that then need to be kept warm. 

Ariadne, pollen laden landing

Stella, full pollen baskets

These two above hives are of genetics in their 8th winter, with no treatments, no re-queening...  These are hives whose genetics are what I've been working for - bees who can do their thing without my coddling or manipulation, just gentle support, those who can withstand mites, etc. without my propping them up with artificial inputs or anthropocentric meddling - and will continue working for as I go into my 11th year of beekeeping...  I knew when I began that this had to be possible and I am finally feeling vindicated in going against what I was taught (ie:  you must put pesticides in the hive to control mites, you must kill the queen and replace her every two years, etc.)

Serviceberry and Wildflower Cake Bars - June's Delight

 I made these in honor of the Irises I smelled last week that smelled just like pound cake!  They were growing in a landscape client's garden, so I couldn't harvest them for cooking.  But I've come up with another option that I think will suit just fine - a blend of fresh wildflowers that are blooming at the moment:  

Honeysuckle, Elder, and Rose.  

Eating flowers serves to soothe the soul three times:  first, when you harvest in the sun with the pollinators flitting about, harvesting along with you, then when you are enchanted with the exquisite taste, and last once you digest and incorporate these fleeting floral gems of medicine into your body make-up.

...and native Serviceberries (Juneberries) are also ripening. 

I only have a little bit of Wild Rose to use, the native Rosa virginiana, because I don't want to take all or even a quarter of the flowers from my two small patches.  So, I have substituted a Rose I have trellised on the art studio.  The invasive Multiflora Rose would also be a great one to use, but it just finished blooming here.  You can use any fragrant Rose.

Notice the large spider bottom middle left of rock.  :)

The mixed batter before folding in the wild goodness.

Preheat oven 350.
Mix:
2 c. flour (I used sprouted Red Fife, a type of heirloom wheat, but use whatever you want).
1/2 tspn. salt
1 tspn. baking powder

Then add to the above:
1/2 c. hemp seeds
1 c. finely chopped cashews (measure before chopping, practically make a powder)

A *local* Super food! - and that really makes it Super!

I wish you could scratch and sniff this.  Sweet, heady, powerful, yet gentle.

In a separate bowl mix:
1 c. sugar (organic raw cane is ideal, I try to use organic everything all the time - not only is it healthy, but it supports farming that supports life:  the bees, the water, the air, us...).
3 Tbspn. butter/ghee/or a mild oil like avocado or walnut
2 eggs (please get yours from happy chickens, not from a factory)
1/2 c. hemp milk

Be sure to chop or cut the flowers into smaller pieces.

Then mix the dry ingredients into the wet.  Once mixed well, fold into it the flowers and berries.  You can substitute any other edible flowers or berries you wish.  This is what I used:
2 c. Elder flowers, Honeysuckle flowers, and Rose petals (about equal parts each)
1 c. Serviceberries

Looks like Magic?  It is.

Do not over mix, pour into greased baking dish (about 9" x 13"), spread evenly to sides.  Bake for 30 minutes.  Allow to cool - if you can wait - and cut into squares.   Makes about 24 cake bars.

Then Bliss Out.  These flowers are cooling and relaxing - perfect for June's heat and activity.  Enjoy one, or two, while watching the clouds roll by...

Nom nom.  Late Spring in edible form.

“In every grain of wheat there lies hidden the soul of a star.” - Arthur Machen 'The Great God Pan.'

A catbird was harvesting those just out of my reach; I'm happy to share - they need to eat too.  You have to get to these coveted berries quick; like many of the wild delectables, they don't linger long.

Uplifting! Rose Vanilla Sesame Cookies

Your tastebuds will dance a jig!

These cookies are chewy and crispy at the same time.  A delight for the mouth!

And using this quantity of real Roses makes them medicinal! 

Rose is cooling, assists with digestion including lessening gut inflammation and creating a healthy gut mircrobiome (anti-infective), supports good mood by addressing Liver stagnation, and as such is used for insomnia, frustration, depression, resentment, and fatigue.  In TCM, we'd say Rose, Mei Gui Hua, moves Qi and harmonizes Blood.  It can be useful for menstrual complaints.

Grind dried Roses until powdered.  You can use a coffee bean grinder.

Ingredients and Directions:
1 2/3c. flour
(you can use and mix various flours, I like these to use sprouted whole grain flours because they are better for you and also quinoa as it is a complete protein)
1/3 c. powdered Rose petals or buds
mix above in separate bowl with 1 tspn. baking powder

In another bowl mix:
2c. sugar
1/2c. coconut oil, melted/soft
1-2 tspn. vanilla extract (amt. depends on how strong you want the vanilla)
1c. sesame tahini, well mixed first
2 eggs

Blend together, place on greased baking sheet by the teaspoon scoop
Bake 350 degrees . 8-12 min. (less time for chewier, more for crispier)

Makes about 80 cookies; this is 8 minutes cooking for chewier.

This is 12 minutes cooking for crispier.

These cookies will delight your senses, first when you bake them and smell them, then when you eat them, and lastly when Rose works her magic!

You can harvest your own Roses for this; just make sure they are chemical-free!
These can be wild-grown or from your organic garden.

Medicinal Pastry! with Quince, Apple, Warming Spices and other Fruits

Can you say "Bliss"?

This dessert definitely counts as culinary magic.  It begins with the scent of Quince, which I find truly rapturous; it is best described as floral, sweet, and tart.  But, the description does not do it justice.  Do find some and see for yourself.  I gleaned these and the apples from the landscape; both just falling to the ground unused by the property owners (a benefit of landscaping for a living) - and we couldn't let this goodness go to waste could we?  'Course the wild animals were sure to indulge too; every apple was taken by someone before the leaves fell from the tree.  :)

The perfection of imperfect fruit.

Back to the scent of ripe Quince...  it is one of my favorite scents in all the world.  I have the scraps sitting in a pot of water on the woodstove to extract every last bit of their olfactory goodness.  It's so good I could just sit and smell the fruit for an hour; it's actually hard to stop smelling it.  I am in bliss with the scent wafting through the house as I fix this dessert.  THIS is what artificial air fresheners attempt to duplicate (but fail).  Nothing like the real thing!  Same could be said for clothing drying on the line and getting rained on and having to stay longer outside to dry.  THAT is the *real* "rain fresh" scent - and it. is. divine.  But I digress...

Quince:  the fruit with the addictive scent.  You can forage these seasonal delights in the landscape, grow them yourself, or occasionally find them at specialty stores or farmer's markets.  Ripe in early Fall.

To make this scrumptious dessert, first make Quince jam and pastry dough.  These two items can be made a day ahead of time (or more for the Quince) if desired.

There are lots of recipes for pastry dough online, so I won't repeat one here.  I used this one and quadrupled it.  Another option would be to only double the pastry dough recipe and then half the apple filling recipe below.  I like to make large amounts of things when I cook and bake because I love leftovers and I figure once you have everything out, it's much more efficient to make large amounts.  You can always freeze some for later if you won't eat it all soon - or gift some! 

Herbal Magic Brewing:  note the tiny Vanilla Orchid seeds.

To make Quince jam:
Use about 8-12 Quince depending on size; about 3/4 c. brown sugar; one Vanilla bean pod, split open; and about 7 cups of water.  Scrub, peel, and de-core the Quince, slice and mix with other items in a pot and bring to a boil.  Keep the lid on to keep the volatile oils inside, and hence in your dessert, or leave it off to release more to the house.  It's a tough decision.  I left mine off.  Turn down to simmer for about two hours then strain out the Quince puree while it's still hot.  Quince is high in pectin naturally, so it will set up as it cools.

You can keep it simple as Vanilla and Quince alone are delightful, or add some additional spices and fruits for health and flavor.  I used 8 Clove buds, 3 Cardamom pods, 8 Jujube dates, and 16 Longan berries.  Some other great additions would be Goldenberries, Mulberries, Goji berries, Ginger, ...  We will use Nutmeg and Cinnamon in with the Apples later, but you could add more here too.

Besides the sheer delight in the smell of the Quince and spices brewing, and then the pastry baking - we know what that does for the mood!, and emotions affect the body (and vice versa) - this pastry warms the middle, or to put it another way, supports digestion.  This is especially important this time of year as the seasons turn colder or more Yin.  We need to keep our Yang digestive fires going until the Yang of Spring arrives.  See the links above on each of the fruits and spices for more information on their medicinal qualities.  You will see they can help with warming up cold joints and extremities too, amongst other things...






Once you have your Quince jam and pastry dough made, it's time to make the Apple Pastry itself...
Start by grating about 8 Apples.  I used foraged apples so there was rot and other areas I discarded, so I ended up using about a dozen apples to equal 8. 
Preheat the oven 400 degrees.

I like to leave the skins on, even with the "blemishes" that feral fruit will have.  It's good for you!

Mix your grated apple with :
1 1/2 c. Quince jam (or substitute any jam if you wish) - this is about half what we made earlier
1 c. brown sugar
1 c. raisins
2 eggs
1 Tbspn. Cinnamon
1/2 tspn. Nutmeg 
You could also add a cup of chopped nuts; Walnuts or Pecans would be great.
(This apple filling recipe will make enough filling for 4 of the pastry dough recipes linked above.)

I ended up not using any milk, but I did throw in half a jar of Hawthorn extract.  Mix it up! 

Take your dough out of the fridge and roll it out on a floured surface, cover it with filling and roll up into a log.  Be sure to leave the outer edge uncovered so you can get your dough to adhere to itself.  I made mine into one super large roll but it was hard to deal with so would recommend halfing our quartering the dough and making several.  Next time that is what I'll do.  ;)  Other options would be to just do a tart (not roll it up), or to make individual serving pastries...

Bake for 60 mins. if you make one large roll; if you do 2 rolls or 4 rolls instead; it will take much less time.  I'd say around 30-45 minutes; bake it until it is well browned.  A tart would probably only take 30 min. and individual pastries might only take 20-30 min. 
One thing about 'kitchen alchemy rules' is that there are no rules! 

You will notice I often say "about" on the amounts in a recipe I share.  This is because I often don't measure and I don't think cooking and baking are exact sciences.  Others might disagree, but I like the play of spontaneity and chance in my kitchen alchemy.  Plus it's hard to go wrong with these ingredients!  Take notes and tweak future batches as you see fit.  I have probably never followed a recipe exactly and usually just cook from scratch.  I note my successes so I can repeat them, but again, rarely make them exactly the same the next time. 
Allow your cooking and baking.  Learn the basics and then branch out and experiment... 
Life itself is ever-changing and vitality is to be found in that interplay.  Rigidity creates stagnation, even in the simple everyday things like fixing food.  Allow, go with the flow, and explore new things... let your regimentation come only from the foundation of health you have set:  like sitting at the table to eat, not looking at any screens during mealtime, chewing thoroughly - BE with your food, your meal, your body. 
Joy is in the little things, like preparing and eating real food.  :)

"Plenty of people miss their share of happiness, 

not because they never found it, 

but because they didn’t stop to join it."

 - William Feather

Fecund Exposure

Last night's rain
on the Oak and Hickory leaves underfoot

becoming Earth once again

Tannin-soaked air reaches my nose

Like a sweet cigar, or a waft of perfume from a steaming cup of tea,
or the smell of rich woodland soil under shovel

in my hands, in my nose, in my heart.

One moment in time

a poignant mystery

to explore.

The depths are reached

in this slanted, decaying light.

The trees bare their bones.

Birds flit, exposed once again in their plenty

no longer their song giving them away, but their feather.

If we are of luck,
we too become exposed

in our journeys back home.

Where the deep, rich Earth will consume us

once more.

Lay it open

raw

rare

and beating.

For how can life grace us

if we aren't fertile ground.

Tomorrow's acorn sprouts

in the rot of yesterday's leaf.

Release the leaf.

Edible Flower Decorated Spiced Shortbread Cookies

There are lots of edible flowers you could use; for these today I am using Calendula and Chicory as both are abundant in my herb garden right now.

First though, we want to make the dough and get it in the fridge to cool, then we can harvest the flowers...

To make the dough:
Mix 2 c. whole wheat flour and 2 c. Millet flour (or some other combination of your choosing)
with 1 tspn. baking powder.

Then cut in 2 sticks of butter and use your hands to mix it until crumbly.  If you haven't done this before, it may seem like it'll never work, it will, cut the butter into small pieces and just keep at it until thoroughly mixed and looking like wet bread crumbs.

Grind 1 c. raw sugar with 10 Cardamom pods until fine.  Make sure to smell this - utterly divine!  Mix with 1 tspn. ground Nutmeg.  After grinding and mixing stir this into your flour butter mixture.

This is half the dough.

Then mix in 6 Tbspn. yogurt, then 4 Tbspn. hemp milk (or other milk of your choosing).  Just mix until mixed, no longer, no kneading.  Spatula this onto wax paper and roll into the desired diameter of your cookies (they will bake about 50% larger).  You may want to divide in half and then roll if you want smaller cookies.

Nature's Confetti - no need for artificial sprinkles. 

Put in fridge for half hour or longer.



Now we can harvest the flowers.  You will just use the petals, so pull them out and mix them.

It's a party in your kitchen; later it'll be a party in your mouth!

Preheat the oven 350 degrees, pull out your chilled dough and cut into slices about 3/8" thick and place on ungreased sheet.  Sprinkle with petals and press them into place.

Bake about 20 minutes, give or take depending on size of your cookies.  Makes about 32 large cookies.  What can I say, I like large cookies and I cannot lie.  :)  (The recipe could make 100 small ones).

"Come forth into the light of things; let nature be your teacher" 

                                                  - Wordsworth

The beloved Chicory - a medicinal wild plant.  The root makes a great coffee substitute.

The beloved Calendula - an important herb to cultivate - so many uses.